Road Food Part 1: Smoothies

This last week and a half I have found myself in a wonderful hotel room that is more like an apartment, complete with a full kitchen. Even so, I have realized that I miss my “road food,” most of the components of which remain in my car which has been in the shop for that same amount of time. Since I put together the ingredients and two separate “kits” over the course of several months, I do not wish to replace them when they will be returned to me shortly (I hope) with the Volvo.

I do want to take this time to share a couple of recipes that have not only sustained me in my travels, but also enabled me to lose a little weight and maintain energy to do those things that I need to.

I hate fast food. I really and truly dislike fast food to the point of hating it. It is full of fats and chemicals that I really have no desire to put into my body. Only on rare occasions have I submitted to the fast food menus for my sustenance, and those times usually involved me receiving gift cards from those establishments.

I’ll begin with my prefered breakfast meal: Smoothies. I LOVE smoothies. But HOW do you make a smoothie without a blender?

About a year ago I first began seeing organic blended fruit with vegetables in the baby food isle. They were priced at over a dollar a pouch. The pouches were on average about 3-4 ounces. That was quite expensive in my mind. However, in the past few months, blended applesauce with other fruits and vegetables in pouches have appeared in the canned fruit isle. The sale prices average about $.50 per pouch. That was a price I could see paying for a component of my smoothies.

If you don’t use a 20 ounce bottle, make sure to have an extra cup handy!

Then came the challenge of finding shelf-stable yogurt. Those also appeared on the same isle of the grocery stores, right next to the applesauce. Having originated in France, I also worried less about GMOs. When I use the shelf-stable yogurts, I do sacrifice the benefits of “live cultures” present in fresh yogurt. So, when I am able to have an ice chest full of ice, I sometimes treat myself to a boost of “live cultures” to help my gut.
Here is my recipe, in the numbers…

Portable Smoothies

1 – 20 ounce empty bottle(I use Vitamin Water bottles) (However, some Vitamin Water bottle are NOT 20 ounces, and I have had “overflows” from using too small of containers!)2 – 3-4 ounce pouches of yogurt (or small “shot” of live active cultured yogurt)3 – Tablespoons of Hemp Protein Powder (the “magic” ingredient)4 – 3-4 ounce pouches of blended fruit & vegis of choice5 – Ice cubes

Add the yogurt, fruit and hemp powder to the empty bottle and shake well until the hemp powder has dissolved. Then add the ice cubes and shake until they are melted completely. Your smoothie should be cold and the right consistency to stick a straw into and enjoy!

In my next post I will share my secrets to my fabulous caesar salads that I eat for dinner or even lunch sometimes!